Fear Fatigue Is Real. Are You In It?

Fear Fatigue Is Real. Here’s How to Reset

Ever feel like your body is holding onto fear even when your brain says, we’re fine?

Even with my toes in the sand, my heart can start racing.

The decades of living and dealing with fear - as a gymnast doing difficult skills, as a new anchor on live TV, as a tech exec at a hyper-growth SaaS company, as a parent, as a daughter of aging parents… I have a personal relationship with fear and feel like I do pretty well with it. But it has taken its toll

You know the feeling.

Even when things are going ‘OK’, it’s that low-level tension in your shoulders. (hey - relax your shoulders right now)
The clenching jaw.
The racing thoughts… followed by a mental spin that feels unwarranted.

Welcome to fear fatigue, the chronic wear and tear of living with a nervous system that’s been in survival mode for far too long.

And it’s not just “in your head.” It’s in your body.

That’s F-bomb #6 (not that F-bomb). We’re talking about ‘Fear’.

You’re Not Just Tired - You’re Wired

The human stress response was designed for short bursts of danger: run from tiger, survive tiger, rest. Get one with life.

But modern life is tigers on email.
And meetings.
And the news.
And your inbox.

And as Robert Sapolsky explains in Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, we don’t ‘get on with life’ well. In the wild, animals don’t get chronic stress. They deal with threats and move on. Humans? We marinate in it. We stew in “what ifs,” replay the past, and dread what’s next. Our bodies stay on high alert, until we start to break down.

Cue: fatigue, inflammation, brain fog, irritability, and burnout.
This isn’t weakness. This is biology. And over time, it will get you.

The Four Fear Responses

We’ve all heard of fight or flight, but the full fear menu is more. It includes:

• Fight: You get angry, reactive, ready to battle.

• Flight: You run - from the task, the call, the hard conversation.

• Freeze: You go still. Overwhelmed. Stuck.

• Fawn: You people-please to keep the peace, abandoning your own needs.

These are automatic, not conscious choices.

This is not a flaw! It is your nervous system doing its best to keep you safe. But our modern world is working against us. We are all living in some level of this fear state 24/7! That’s where the fatigue and the breakdown set in.

Resetting the System (Without a Major Life Overhaul)

Good news: you don’t need a spa weekend or a sabbatical to start resetting. (though that does sound lovely right now I write this)

Here is the secret. Your nervous system responds to signals of safety. And a small cue can make a big difference. Try one of these:

• Breathe slower on purpose.
  Inhale 4 counts. Exhale 6. Longer exhales, tell your body: It’s okay now.

• Get outside and move.
  A 5-minute walk breaks the cycle. Bonus points for sun on your skin and no phone.

• Anchor to a micro-moment.
  Sip something warm, really taste it. Or, feel the texture of your shirt and think about it. It may feel silly to do, but say out loud, “I’m safe.”

These may seem simple. But they’re biologically effective. They give your fear-fatigued system a chance to come back online - not in fight mode, but in human mode.

Ask Yourself This:

Before you power through the next task or scroll through more noise… pick your head up and look away from your screen.

What does your nervous system need right now?

A pause?
A breath?
A silly little shimmy dance break in my chair to shake off the tension?

Whatever it is - honor that moment.
Because surviving isn’t the same as living. And this constant, low-grade fear is quietly wearing you down.

You deserve to feel safe in your own body again.

I wish I had learned these simple resets earlier. I use them daily now - and some days, I still have to glance over my shoulder and remind myself: the tiger isn’t real.

It’s just life.
And me, trying to do some big, brave things.
And that’s more than okay. That’s powerful.

For you…

This is your reminder that you don’t have to white-knuckle your way through it all.

Fear fatigue is real, but so is your ability to reset.

You don’t need to overhaul your life. You just need to interrupt the pattern. One breath, one pause, one micro-moment at a time.

So start now.

Close your eyes for five seconds.
Unclench your jaw.
Take a longer exhale.
Tell yourself, “I’m okay. I’ve got this.”

Then go do the next thing, but from a place of calm power, not chronic panic.

Your nervous system has been doing its job.
Now it’s your turn to take the wheel.

Because you’re not here to just survive the pace of life.
You’re here to lead it. To own it. To thrive in it.